Encryption & self-incrimination

Isn't there a limit as to how long they can lock you up for contempt of
court? Most crimes do have a maximum sentence.

As far as I know the contempt of court charges can keep you in jail till you
rot.

Unless the judge recinds his order or your lawyer can get a higher court to
over-turn the order you are stuck (as far as I understand it).

On Fri, 24 Dec 1993, Jim choate wrote:

> As far as I know the contempt of court charges can keep you in jail till you
> rot.
> 
> Unless the judge recinds his order or your lawyer can get a higher court to
> over-turn the order you are stuck (as far as I understand it).

I recall a case several years ago where a woman (somewhere on the East
Coast?) was thrown in jail for contempt.  She refused several times to
tell the court where her child was in an attempt to keep her ex-husband
from gaining custody (I believe he was accused of sexually abusing the
child).  The woman had been in jail for several months when a higher court
ruled that she must be released.  I don't have any references to this case,
perhaps someone else does.

John Schultz
jschultz@bigcat.missouri.edu

Greetz...

I have heard of similar cases but usually related to newspaper reporters and
sources they refused to reveal. Course, it does make a certain amount of
sense in these cases since you have a constitutional guarantee to face your
accussers.

> I recall a case several years ago where a woman (somewhere on the East
> Coast?) was thrown in jail for contempt.  She refused several times to
> tell the court where her child was in an attempt to keep her ex-husband
> from gaining custody (I believe he was accused of sexually abusing the
> child).  The woman had been in jail for several months when a higher court
> ruled that she must be released.  I don't have any references to this case,
> perhaps someone else does.
> 
> John Schultz

This was the Elizabeth Morgan case, and she was in jail for a lot
longer than several months...more like a year or two. She claimed her
ex-husband, a doctor or dentist, had molested her daughter.

As John noted, she refused to say where the child was and so remained
in jail indefinitely.

(I have mixed feelings about this case. Suppose the father had never
molested the daughter and this was just a custody ploy. Does the
mother's silence mean the daughter is forever inaccessible? That there
will never be a trial to resolve the issue?)

When she was eventually released, details escape me as to how this
happened, she travelled to Australia, where her daughter was being
raised by the grandparents.

I've heard nothing more of the case.


--Tim May


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> As far as I know the contempt of court charges can keep you in jail till you
> rot.

I heard that they can only keep you in jail until it's clear that
keeping you in jail will not change your mind (or produce results).
Which means that once the case is over, your out.  Naturally, you'll
probably need a good lawer to pull this one off.


brad